[3.5] "Game finding" in 2017

[SCOTTEPIPPEN]

I've played 3.5 since 2014 and i've liked it so far, but i've always played with a group of friends that shares the same interests and is kept alive out of session like a normal friend's group.
I have tried through the years to find DMs outside my standard group and I have, with all the efforts of the world, found just one to play in person with.
Is the playerbase of 3.5 so low? How quick do you find games?
I don't think it's better online with roll20 because you expose yourself (in my experience) to the same problems that a videogame's public lobby has; am I wrong?

Also keep in mind that I am from Italy (urban zone, i don't live in the countryside), not all the english books have been translated and I think that is a reason why there aren't so many people playing: the stereotype of italians not knowing english is in part true and not a lot of us don't know the language that well to browse forums or read not-italian handbooks. Maybe the variety of avaiable content is killing the community here.

[radthemad4]

I've never actually played in meatspace, but I have two stable online groups atm (>2 years so far), both of which I found via forums. However I've played with a bunch of groups before that dispersed for various reasons (mostly scheduling). I'd say just keep trying your luck online. Eventually you're likely to find or make a group you mesh with.

Another option is to try to convince your meatspace friends to give D&D a shot, and teach it to them.

You could also hire a professional DM if you're willing to fork over cash.

[CIDE]

In-person games are really hard to find in my experience. Since I moved away from my normal group I've basically been LFG for 4 years at this point. I just recently found a group getting formed in my area and that's still somewhat up in the air. but, starting in-person it's hard to get the same experience and feel with online play. Even via skype or video calls or some kind. That said I really don't have any tips; I found a group by sheer luck and nothing else.

[Sir Chuckles]

It really depends on your area and who you know. If you're the only person in your group of friends who play tabletop anything, then it is possible that they don't either because they have no interest in the hobby and did not make friends with those who do. In turn, everyone in my group knows of a different group if only because of random assimilation through games shops.

And then you've got your problem with translation. It's not surprising that fewer are interested in something they can't fluently read or join groups where it is popular because they can't parse the gamespeak.

As for the online thing, try sites that aren't Roll20. Right on this very forum you can do play-by-post, or go to a website dedicated and set up for it, namely Mythweavers.

[Kurald Galain]

The public campaign Pathfinder Society appears to be active in Italy, I recommend you check that: https://www.facebook.com/pathfindersocietyitalia/

[RoboEmperor]

roll20. I have found a great group there, but it was hard and frustrating. The community is not bad, especially compared to video game communities, but the skill level is generally very low, which is the problem with roll20. Too many noob DMs.

It might take months before you find a good group. Website is filled with bad DMs ranging from absolutely no clue how the game works and just wants to re-enact a fantasy story they wrote themselves resulting in a **** ton of DMPCs and annoying house rules/homebrew that make no sense whatsoever, to scrub DMs with 0 system mastery house ruling everything to oblivion to make the game fit their limited understanding of the game. There are also DMs who spend 2 hours on roleplay of selling loot and results in a level up once every two months, and DMs who DM just to kill players in the most hilarious ways and impose house rules that make that easier.

I finally found a good DM, and having a blast weekly on roll20, but I had to go through like 6 terrible DMs first. My strategy is to post what you want to do up front, and judge the DM's skill level depending on what he says. Low skill DM = Bad DM so ditch. They either just disappear on you, or they have terrible problem handling skills and become railroady. High skill DM = Awesome DM and you'll have fun for a long time. There are also poser DMs who are bad but pretend to be good so you gotta watch for those, otherwise you'll end up wasting 2 months before you realize how bad he is.

In my experience, DMs who mention specific stuff are high skill. For example, a DM that says up front "No strong silent type" because he wants a cooperative party, "No evil alignment" because he wants a heroic party, have been in games where the PCs reach level 17+, posts all the books that are allowed, and posts his list of house rules is a DM who has a lot of experience, have been in groups where he's seen roleplay and mechanical conflicts have destroyed groups before and as a result knows how to run long term games that reach high level instead of ending the campaign at like level 6 or 8, where as a DM who just says "I can handle everything" probably can't. They think they can, but they can't. I've played with 2 DMs who said they can, but in the end they couldn't (and none of them were related to me. I saw them freak out at a fellow player and I left because I didn't want to play with such a DM). Be sure to read through the posted house rules thoroughly because it often shows whether the DM is a reasonable RAI DM or a scrub DM who has no system mastery. If the DM doesn't post a list of house rules, ask for them because nothing pisses you off like being hit with a house rule you didn't know about.

So find a game that interests you, gauge the DM's skill level and post an application, even if the game starts 2 months later rather than 1 week later.

Finding a good DM online is very difficult so be prepared to put in the effort and deal with the frustration of many wasted months.

edit:If you're planning on doing some really optimized stuff, you probably have to go for the hired DM or run a game yourself with a DMPC and make 0 story decisions.

[SCOTTEPIPPEN]

And what do you think about roleplaying in english even if it is not my first language?
I know, it is about how confident I am about my understanding of the language.
At the moment i have a CAE certificate, is it ok to start RPing in english? I wouldn't like to find myself i weird situations where i can't understand something but for now i listen to everything I like in english (music, videos and so on) and I can say that I understand A LOT, but a lot doesn't mean everything.

[zlefin]

I'm not really used to looking offline for games; awhile ago someone posted some sites i've considered using.
like:
http://nearbygamers.com/
that might have some people you could meet up with.
I don't remember what other ones they suggested.

[Endarire]

On Roll20, I've focused on pay to play GMs since they have generally been better.

[martixy]

Once my last session in-person ended, I turned to roll20. That was about 2 years ago.

It was brief and painful. I found out that online TT gaming suffers from all the same problems(even more in some cases) as normal video games.

Since that brief foray ended my D&D career has largely been on hiatus - we had a small stretch of Cypher, but that ended after a few months of sporadic sessions. We tried reviving a friend's D&D campaign a couple of times, but that also went nowhere.

All of this is about to change, as this weekend we are finally getting together for a long overdue resumption of active gaming. For the last couple of months we've been building characters and hyping up to the upcoming game to end all games.

So I guess my problem isn't in finding the players, rather in corralling them together enough to finally start the bloody thing.

[AnimeTheCat]

And what do you think about roleplaying in english even if it is not my first language?
I know, it is about how confident I am about my understanding of the language.
At the moment i have a CAE certificate, is it ok to start RPing in english? I wouldn't like to find myself i weird situations where i can't understand something but for now i listen to everything I like in english (music, videos and so on) and I can say that I understand A LOT, but a lot doesn't mean everything.

I would say that you'll most likely encounter ignorant and abbrasive people online, but I wouldn't let it discourage you. I've played with some people online who's accents were incredibly thick and it was tough going at first, but with time, patience, and and open mind they got better and being more clear, I got better at explaining things, and the games ended up going off without too much difficulty. Keep at it and don't be afraid to RP in English. If anything, it can only help.

[Val666]

And what do you think about roleplaying in english even if it is not my first language?
I know, it is about how confident I am about my understanding of the language.
At the moment i have a CAE certificate, is it ok to start RPing in english? I wouldn't like to find myself i weird situations where i can't understand something but for now i listen to everything I like in english (music, videos and so on) and I can say that I understand A LOT, but a lot doesn't mean everything.

I think you should give it a try. I'm from Perú and currently have a group on roll20 I really like. As any other game in which you meet strangers, it was a little bit hard at first but now all of us are good friends (maybe) and we even play other games. Of course the situation you are mentioning will arise, probably with puns or jokes I don't get because our different cultures and tastes but in the end it won't matter, you'll have a blast and you will practice your english. Do not miss the chance ;-)

[Eldariel]

And what do you think about roleplaying in english even if it is not my first language?
I know, it is about how confident I am about my understanding of the language.
At the moment i have a CAE certificate, is it ok to start RPing in english? I wouldn't like to find myself i weird situations where i can't understand something but for now i listen to everything I like in english (music, videos and so on) and I can say that I understand A LOT, but a lot doesn't mean everything.

You'll learn it by doing it. I've got near-native level English even though I've never lived in an English-speaking country for an extended period of time and it's all thanks to me starting to play online, especially once I began Starcraft 18 years ago. If you don't understand something, don't worry, that's how you come to understand it. Using language is by far the best means to learn said language and you can just work around the words you don't know or ask for an explanation. Most people won't mind and the world is so full of speakers of different languages under the loose roof category of "English" that there's probably a native whose "English" is further away from the British high standard English being taught in schools than yours is. And if you say something wrong, so what? That's learning. So yeah, go, play and learn as a sidedish. It's not just win/win, it's win/win/win. Ignore the bigots.

[Geddy2112]

I actually dislike playing online games-I have done it a little bit, but for me, I have played in majority in person games, with the occasional Skype in if somebody was sick/out of town/etc.

The easiest way to get players is to badger your friend group, and get them to do the same. Roommates work really well, as do siblings, coworkers and S.O's(although that one can be dicey). For me, long term organic growth has been the best.

My current local gaming group is going on 5 years strong, having 4 of the "founding" group members, lets call them Rick, Jerry, Andre, and Nate(me). It all started when my friend Rick met Jerry in a group that since disbanded. My friend got the bug to DM, so he recruited Jerry and another from the game, his roommate Andre, two coworkers and a coworker's SO. I got badgered in eventually, and eventually the other player he recruited moved away. We have added several, joined other games, lost people(mostly as people move away since it is a college town) but I have been friends with Rick, Jerry, and Andre for 5 year since. We have had losses due to personality clashes, mainly becuase the 4 of us can disagree but we fundamentally play well together so newcomers have to fit our table. Those who have stayed on(another player, Mitch, is going on 3-4 years with us) have either been a good match off the bat or over time, grown/bent to conform to the way things are.

I will say you will hit tables and groups that just don't work out, online included. Games with people I have met online/craigslist were just kind of meh or petered out very quickly, but the slower organic growth of friends has worked out the best.

[Hackulator]

On Roll20, I've focused on pay to play GMs since they have generally been better.

Wait that's a thing? People will pay someone to GM for them?

[Sir Chuckles]

Wait that's a thing? People will pay someone to GM for them?

Yes. The advent of Roll20 (and PayPal) made the rare practice a bit less uncommon, but it is generally more common for a DM to advertise themselves. Quickly scrolling through the first page of Roll20, I see three results. Someone offering to pay $40 per session for a 3.5/PF solo game, each session being 4-5 hours on the weekends. One DM offering $10 per person per session for a 5e module, and one DM that's 7.50 euros per person per session for a different 5e module.

Although I kinda dislike the practice in a way I can't really put into proper words, when someone is offering about $10/hour for a solo game of any variety I can see why it is becoming popular. As long as it doesn't become the norm. I've actually considered doing it myself should my current PTJ fall through.

[Crake]

Yes. The advent of Roll20 (and PayPal) made the rare practice a bit less uncommon, but it is generally more common for a DM to advertise themselves. Quickly scrolling through the first page of Roll20, I see three results. Someone offering to pay $40 per session for a 3.5/PF solo game, each session being 4-5 hours on the weekends. One DM offering $10 per person per session for a 5e module, and one DM that's 7.50 euros per person per session for a different 5e module.

Although I kinda dislike the practice in a way I can't really put into proper words, when someone is offering about $10/hour for a solo game of any variety I can see why it is becoming popular. As long as it doesn't become the norm. I've actually considered doing it myself should my current PTJ fall through.

It's not even $10/hour when you think about the preparation that would need to happen between games, unless the DM is absolutely just improving the whole game.

[Sir Chuckles]

It's not even $10/hour when you think about the preparation that would need to happen between games unless the DM is absolutely just improving the whole game.

Eh, two of them were APs. I've got MapTools and Roll20 maps of half a dozen APs already done and could run 'em from memory. A lot of these DMs make them pay even on Session 0. Though I agree it may not always pan out to $10/hour, it does seem like it could be a neat thing to get pocket money off of.

I mean, ideally, you end up with 6 consistently paying players and a 3-4 hour session. Allow yourself an hour or two of prep or less with a well put together AP or one you happen to already have prepared per session and you've got a college student's weekend cash. Or just something to do if you were going to DM anyway.

I mean, it's not the most sound or stable thing to do, but, again, I'd rather do that instead of floundering while unemployed. Probably makes more than a Youtube start-up.